Sasuke Stays?
by Roxii-chan
Summary: Sasuke was able to be brought back to the village, but will he stay for long? Sasuke never made it to Orochimaru before being brought back to the village, and he may be reconsidering his decision. He isn't quite sure about what to do, even with his teammates trying as hard as they can to convince him to stay.
1. Sasuke Is Returned

I could _not_ believe how different and stupid and outrageous Sasuke and his actions had become. I used to actually tolerate him, despite his obnoxious attitude and behaviors. He was always so cold to everyone. I can't believe I ever even liked him…gross.

I still can't say I understand those dumbtarded fangirls of his (yes, dumbtarded is a word. It's MY word), which are about half of the girls in this village. Now I can't stand him at all. He's obsessing way too much over power to kill his brother, Itachi, who had actually killed the rest of their clan. Because of all that, he's left the village to go to that gross, evil, snake-like weirdo named Orochimaru (who, I have to say, sounds like a pedo. "I want Sasuke's body, blah, blah, blah") to gain more power, although Orochimaru (*cough*OrochiPedo*cough*) will just use him for one of his nefarious plans or whatever. Thanks to him, Kakashi-sensei and I have to go chasing after Naruto, who went chasing after Sasuke.

Suddenly I heard Pakkun start barking and I looked up to see both Naruto and Sasuke passed out in the middle of the Valley of the End. I ran up to them, worried that they could have been dead.

"Good, they have a pulse and are still breathing." I sighed with relief as I checked their pulse and breathing. I may have pretty much hated Sasuke, but he was my comrade, so I kind of still wanted the jerk to live. As for Naruto, he was sometimes irritating, but I loved him, and I certainly wanted him alive. "They certainly have some wounds that will require them to be put in the hospital for a while, but I don't think it's anything fatal." I commented while I looked over their wounds. I tried to somewhat heal them to help the situation a little bit.

"Roxii, let's get them back home now." Kakashi-sensei said. I nodded. While Kakashi-sensei easily picked up Naruto, I struggled a bit to carry Sasuke (seriously, the dude is probably like, at least 20 pounds bigger than me. I'm super scrawny!) and started heading home.

The rain that was falling heavily from the sky had cleared up by now. As we walked, I drifted off into my thoughts again. Sasuke was such an idiot. After all that Orochimaru had done, he still wanted to go to him. Plus, there's that whole "he sounds way too much like a pedo thing" going on with Orochimaru… I feel like I'm surrounded by weirdoes.

But anyway, Sasuke has issues. I can't believe Naruto bothered to go all of this way to prevent Sasuke from leaving the Hidden Leaf. Then again, Sasuke was his friend and Naruto was loyal to his friends. He'd do anything to protect them, even if they were rivals.

It wasn't until days later that Naruto and Sasuke awoke. Sakura basically hadn't moved from Sasuke's side since he arrived in the hospital, aside from checking up on other comrades. I swear, she had some major obsession with him that was far beyond anyone else. I wouldn't even be surprised if she started stalking him like Hinata stalks Naruto…Hinata was such a freak…I should punch her in the face…and throw her in a dumpster…and run the dumpster over with a prison bus while she was still in it.

Anyway, I went to Sasuke's hospital room and went inside. I needed to talk to him and try to figure out what was going on in his issue-filled mind. Knowing him, he would try to leave again…idiot.

"Why did you try to leave the village?" I questioned. He didn't even bother to look at me. Annoyed, I walked up to him and folded my arms. "Hey, loser, are you deaf or something?" This time he did look up. I stared into his dark eyes and waited for an answer. Even his eyes seemed different from long before; from when I first knew him.

"Why wouldn't I leave the village? I'll gain no strength hanging around with you losers here at the Hidden Leaf. If I don't get stronger, I won't be able to take revenge on my brother. It's simple logic." He finally replied. Again, I say he's way too obsessed with Itachi. It's all he cares about lately…I wanted to kick him.

"So you're just going to leave all your friends and comrades for this whole plan of revenge?"

"Yes. I need to focus on getting more powerful, not playing ninja with my 'friends'."

"So what you're saying is you don't care about _any_ of us anymore?" he didn't answer. Now I _really_ wanted to kick him. And to think I actually considered him my friend. He's been so different lately. Sasuke looks the same, even sounds the same. But there's something about him that's changed so much. "What's your problem, Sasuke!?" I yelled. "Some of us have actually have an idea of how you feel, yet we aren't obsessed with revenge like you! I can't believe you'd give up everything just to kill your brother! Get over it, Uchiha!" By the look on his face, I could tell I nabbed his attention. Yeah, sure, I yell. A lot. I have anger issues. But I never really call Sasuke by his last name unless I'm super pissed off by him. Then, I noticed his expression changed to angry.

"You'd never understand what it's like! If you went through what I have, you'd do just the same!" he shouted. I was getting really tired of hearing this. I've heard it all before.

"Fine. Just leave again if you really want. See if I care." I said before leaving.


	2. He's Back, But Will He Stay?

As I walked across a bridge on my way to Ichiraku's ramen shop, I noticed that familiar raven black hair in the peculiar shape of a cockatoo…or as my old friend called it, a duck butt… He was peering down into the crystal blue water.

"_Sasuke?_" was my immediate thought. I walked over and stood next to him. "So, you decided to stay?" I questioned.

"Don't expect it to be permanent. I'm still thinking about it." He replied blandly.

"Well, obviously. If you left the village impulsively like some dumbtard like that, I'm not expecting you to make up your mind and stay forever." And that was true. Sasuke wouldn't care about any effects him leaving would have on anyone else. It's not like he cared the first time.

"Dumbtard? Roxii, you're such a loser…" he said. I growled defensively.

"Hey, it's a word!"

"In what language?" he criticized.

"In my language!" I told him. Suddenly I found him spacing out. I thought nothing of it, though. I figured he'd had a long day and just had a lot on his mind. _"Well, I'm glad he's already starting to sound like himself again. He's super obnoxious when he acts like a douche, always obsessing over revenge." _I thought to myself.

~oOo~

"Admit it, Roxii! You like him, don't you?" Saki said. I could feel my face turning pink. She always says stuff like that that grosses me out.

"Ew! No, that's disgusting! Sasuke is like, the _worst_ person you could possibly want!" I said, wanting to throw up or something. Seriously? _Sasuke_, of _all_ people? Gross…

"Then why did you want him to stay?" she interrogated.

"Because he's my friend, baka! Well…he sort of is…Anyway, I don't think I feel like dealing with more freaking lunatics going all psycho like Orochimaru. If Sasuke left the village, he'd turn into one of those weirdoes."

"Hm…good point," She said. "But I still think you like him."

"If I liked Sasuke instead of Naruto, I'd be wanting to tear off Ino and Sakura's heads, not Hinata's….I should go kick her into a trash can." I said. Yes, I love Naruto; he's adorable. Yes, I hate Hinata; she stalks him all of the time and it's creepy. No, I don't like Sasuke and I wouldn't care to join Sakura and Ino's cut-you-from-limb-to-limb-until-you-die-so-Sasuke' s-mine fight. So I still didn't get why Saki thought I loved Sasuke…ew. I think she just loves torturing me…some friend she is.

"Are the words Hinata and trash can always put together in every sentence you say that involves her?" she said, laughing.

"Yes, I very much dislike her. She better be glad we're not comrades, otherwise I'd punch her in the face every time I see her." I replied. Yeah, I have anger issues…In fact, I want a prison bus just to run over people I hate.

"Who would you punch in the face?" I heard a voice behind me. I squealed and turned around to see Sasuke was standing behind me.

"Sasuke, don't scare me like that you idiot!" I yelled.

"Ok, ok. Just calm down. You didn't have to bust my eardrums over it." He said, looking annoyed as usual. Sasuke was always popping up behind me out of nowhere without a sound like a cat, or even a Hinata…gross.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"He came here to see his lover!" Saki chirped. I rolled my eyes at her.

"What? I can't drop by and say hi?" Sasuke asked.

"I didn't hear a no!" Saki chimed in again. This time I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her around, dragging out my words slowly to make sure she understood.

"It. Is. Not. Going. To. Happen!" I said. Jeez, I couldn't believe Sasuke could just sit here and let her talk crazy like that. Then again, Sasuke kind of ignores everything. But then I realized he must've been ignoring her because he seemed to be spacing out like he had earlier. Again, I thought nothing of it.

But anyway, some people describe Sasuke as cool, calm, and collected. I just describe it as being an arrogant jerk that enjoys ignoring anyone.

I'm sure you're probably pissed off about how I constantly talk horribly about Sasuke (and Hinata…and about everyone for that matter…), but I'm just calling it the way I see it. If you don't agree with me, ignore me and think your own opinion. If you do agree with me, then that's great. You've found someone who shares your opinion…Plus, I just say horrible things because I hate the vast majority of people.

"Well, It's true and you know it." Saki continued.

"Just shut up, Saki. Nobody asked you."

"You _did_ go out with him before, so why not like him now?" Jeez, once Saki started on an argument, she could go on forever.

"Never speak of it." I growled.

~oOo~

"Where the hell is Kakashi-sensei!?" I yelled, pacing around. I was bored out of my mind! He always did this every time we had to meet up for anything. He'd tell us we _had_ to be somewhere at a specific time and then show up hours after the scheduled time.

Sasuke was just standing there, leaning against the railing of the bridge, as usual. Sakura was standing next to him, looking annoyed at Kakashi-sensei while she stared at, as she would put it, 'the gorgeously handsome Sasuke'….gross. Meanwhile, Naruto was (obviously) wolfing down ramen. I don't think I've ever really seen him eat anything besides ramen…Oh well. He's still adorable anyway. Next thing I knew, I found Kakashi-sensei standing by us.

"Sensei, where were you!?" I hollered.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I just got lost in the beauty of the village on my way here." He replied nonchalantly while pulling out his stupid book.

"What!?" Naruto, Sakura and I yelled.

"You were just getting too caught up in your weird porn books or whatever!" I yelled.

"Well, no matter. Are you all ready?" he asked, trying to change the subject casually. I sighed. At least we could move on with our lives already. We had been waiting on him for over two hours!

"Next time, just get here a few hours later. It'll take him about that long to just get off his lazy ass anyway…" I grumbled to my teammates.

"Agreed." My group mumbled back as we headed out of the village gates.


	3. Worst Mission Ever

"So, Kakashi-sensei, what was this mission supposed to be on again?" Naruto questioned excitedly. He always loves going on missions. Maybe a little too much…he always wants to go on missions, and he especially wants to go on S-rank missions all the time.

"We're going to pick up a secret shipment of products that the village is needs." Kakashi said, reading his weird porn book or whatever as he walked.

"Whoa, a secret shipment!? What is it!?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto, there's a _reason_ it's called a _secret_ shipment." Sakura said, clearly already getting irritated at how Naruto doesn't really bother to think instead of asking stupid questions.

"Sakura's right. We won't know what's in the package; we're just delivering it." Kakashi said. Sasuke just continued walking, looking a little spaced out…again…weirdo…I'd have to ask him what the hell is wrong with him later.

Sakura just stuck close to him like she always does. Poor Sasuke, always getting stuck with whatever fangirl was nearby. Well, it's another thing I can make fun of him for. But at least Sakura was one of the better, well-composed fangirls. She could calm down around him at least sometimes.

Meanwhile, others kinda just floated around him like a bunch of weird butterflies to an emo flower. And some of them get all super jittery and excited like they just had like, 100 cups of coffee.

If you tell them to calm down and stop stalking Sasuke they just yelled "You're just jealous of Sasuke 'cuz he's better than you!" or "Don't be upset that Sasuke likes me better than you!" or something like that. While obnoxious (especially to guys, as you can tell by the looks on their faces), it's also quite amusing to see them fight each other just because of one guy.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and looked over to see Kakashi reading his book and Sakura punching Naruto, probably for saying something stupid. I mentally sighed. _"This is going to be a long trip."_ I thought to myself.

~oOo~

It didn't take very long for us to get to where we had to pick up the shipment considering it was in Otafuku City. Where we were picking up the shipment was actually just a regular looking store.

"Huh? Why are we picking up some secret shipment here? Shouldn't it be in like, some secret location with guards are around it or something?" Naruto asked, clearly confused. He did have a point…something that sounded as important as Kakashi made it sound like certainly wouldn't be given out at an ordinary store…in fact it was just a stupid bookstore. Kakashi just ignored him, picked up the package from the guy at the counter, and started opening it.

"Sensei, I don't think—" Sakura stopped mid-sentence at what he pulled out. _"Oh. My. God."_ I thought. I can _not_ believe he dragged us out here just to get _that_.

"It's just one of his stupid books!" Sakura and I yelled in unison.

"I thought you said this was some mission to pick up a secret shipment!" Naruto screamed. Even Sasuke seemed somewhat baffled (and annoyed. But that's expected). Sometimes I really didn't understand Kakashi.

"Well, you were constantly begging for a mission and none were available. So, I figured I might as well bring you along and say it was a mission to shut you up for a bit." Kakashi's mouth wasn't visible because of the mask on his face because of the mask he wore, but you could tell from his eyes that there was a big grin on his face.

"That was just a big waste of time!" I yelled.

"Not for me it wasn't." Kakashi was still grinning.

"Ok, well why'd we have to go all the way to Otafuku City!?"

"They were first releasing it here, and I wanted to get it as soon as it came out." Sasuke, Sakura, Naruto, and I all sighed at once. Kakashi-sensei had some real issues sometimes. In fact, it makes me almost believe that he can never be serious. Surprisingly, that isn't the case. Well, I guess it could be worse…


	4. Still Thinking About It

Please read and review! I like to hear people's opinions about my stories :3

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I lay down in my bed as I thought to myself, like I always do, while holding my cute little cow-colored cat, Kitty (yeah, I know. A stupid name, but I couldn't think of what to name her when I first found her). My thoughts easily shifted from how soft Kitty was, to how stupid the other day's mission was, to why Sasuke was spacing out lately so much. My mind was always a random jumbled mess, like a bunch of spaghetti.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Sasuke had been spacing out a lot lately. I think I knew what it was. I should probably go talk to him about it. I sighed as I got up and put Kitty back down on my bed. She meowed grumpily.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, Kitty. You're a whiny little kitty-cat. You don't need to tell me that." I said, scratching her chin before leaving.

On my way to the stupid Uchiha's house, I came across Sakura.

"Hey, Roxii. What's up?" Sakura asked me.

"Nothing much. Just going to the store to pick up some food." I lied.

I do _not_ wanting people thinking that I go to emo Sasuke's apartment to hang out with him. It's bad enough Saki always says that I like Sasuke and stuff. I don't need her finding out about me visiting Sasuke and spreading rumors that I like, go out with him or something…disgusting. Worst thought I could ever have.

Saki always jumps at the chance of me getting a boyfriend, and gets way too excited for me if I ever do. The first (and only) time I got a boyfriend (who had been sadly Sasuke. I swear I had a mental disorder at that time. Gross.), Saki basically flipped out and went around telling the whole village…even the people I barely knew! She gets way too happy for me sometimes…

"Well don't forget to get _actual_ meals this time instead of ice cream and chocolate this time." Sakura joked around. "Anyway, I just wanted to say hi while you were here. See ya later!" Sakura said, heading off to do…well, whatever she was gonna do.

Eventually I got to Sasuke's apartment building and headed up the stairs. I got to his apartment and knocked on the door. Soon after, Sasuke opened the door.

"What do you want?" he asked coldly.

"I need to talk to you." I said.

"About what?"

"I just need to talk to you."

"Hn…" Sasuke just grunted and walked inside, leaving the door open. Jeez, the least he could do was say something instead of leaving me to figure out that he was implying that I could come in. I walked inside and sat next to him on his bed.

"What do you want?" he repeated.

"What's up with you lately?" I questioned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you've been spacing out a lot lately, you baka." He didn't respond. "Are you gonna tell me why? Or do I have to play guessing games with you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He said blandly.

"Sasuke, we both know that's not true." I glared at him. He didn't say anything again. I guess we were going to have to play guessing games… "You're still thinking about Itachi and getting revenge on him aren't you?" Again, he didn't respond. I could tell I was right. After a while, Sasuke finally said something.

"Of course I'm still thinking about it…he killed my entire clan. I can never forgive him for that."

"Just because you can't forgive him doesn't mean it's necessary to kill him."

"I find that it is." Sasuke said. I could see the hatred in his eyes.I never understood why he was so caught up with getting revenge on his brother, but I did understand that he needed someone to talk him out of this obsession.

"Sasuke, you need to just forget about this whole thing. You're not going to be happy thinking about this for your whole life."

"I'll be a lot happier when I kill Itachi." He said plainly. I gave him a disapproving look that told him that I was unhappy with what he was planning on doing. "Like I said before, don't expect me to stay here for long. I haven't decided on whether I'm staying or not, and I never promised to stay anyway."

"Well, have you ever thought that you'd be a lot happier by staying here and forgetting about him than if you were to keep obsessing over this?" Sasuke just sighed.

"Why do you care, anyway? You don't even like me. You usually kick me every time you see me. I'm surprised you haven't kicked me at all this week." He said. This time I sighed.

"I don't really like you, but you're my comrade and I kind of care about you. I can't just let you leave for some stupid goal. Besides, I guess I could sort of consider you my friend."

"Thanks," He said sarcastically. "I'm so thrilled that you 'guess you could sort of consider me as your friend'."

"Just think about it, ok? And don't try and take off again…" I said as I got up and left.


	5. Convincing Sasuke To Stay Again

Please read and review! I'd prefer it if people told me what they think is good or what they think I need to work on. :D

* * *

As I sparred with Sasuke in the training grounds, I couldn't help but think about what his decision might be. I hated him, but I really didn't want him to go. I wouldn't want any of my comrades to leave the village.

If he left, a lot would change, including the fact that I wouldn't have someone to kick all of the time. Naruto would get pissed off and become dedicated to being able to bring Sasuke back.

Not to mention that Sakura (and all of the other fan girls for that matter) would be crying for the next month or so…that would be the most obnoxious thing to hear…over half of the villages girls bawling and crying his name constantly like a broken record. Why did fangirls have to be so obsessive and weird?

Getting too lost in my thoughts, I got distracted and let my guard down. I took a blow to the stomach from Sasuke and got knocked into a tree. He smirked and walked up to me.

"Ready to give up yet tell me I'm stronger than you?" he said.

"Shut up, baka." I growled. He held out his hand to me to help me up, but I ignored him and got up myself. Then I decided to kick him as hard as I could for acting like he was better than me, causing him to almost lose his balance. He knew well enough by now that if he made a snarky comment then he'd get kicked, so he expected it. Regaining his balance, he ignored the bad attitude I always express towards him.

"So, why so distracted?" he asked.

"Huh?"

"Roxii, I can tell when you're distracted, especially if you easily lose your guard like that." He said. "So what's on your mind?"

"I was just thinking and got lost in my thoughts."

"About what?" he questioned.

"Well, have you decided about whether you're staying or not?" I answered his question with another question.

"You do care about me, don't you?" he smirked. I kicked him once again.

"Gross. I don't care about _you_. I just care about my _comrades_ in general." I said stubbornly.

"Anyway, no, I haven't decided yet. Roxii, this isn't an answer I can just easily come up with in a few days. I need a while to think about it." I sighed. Itachi has really clouded his judgment. I could tell he was really thinking about leaving.

"Hey, you two! What's up?" Sakura came up and grinned at us. I decided maybe hearing Sakura's opinion too would help him decide not to leave.

"Sakura, what do you think of stupid Sasuke leaving the village again for good and trying to get revenge on his nii-san?" I asked Sakura.

"_What!?_ Sasuke-kun is leaving again!?" Sakura looked like she was about to pass out.

"No no no no no! The emo Sasuke-san is _not_ leaving right now. Just calm down!" Jeez, Sakura was a handful when it came to topics like Sasuke leaving. "I meant that he was _thinking_ about it and I'm trying to convince him that it's even stupider than wearing his hair like that."

"What's so wrong with my hair?" Sasuke glared.

"It looks like you glued a duck's butt to your head, that's what's wrong with it. Now, anyway, tell him how much of a dumbtard he's being." I said. Sakura instantly latched herself onto Sasuke and started telling him that he shouldn't leave.

"Sasuke-kun don't leave us again!" she started babbling about all the reasons he should stay. Meanwhile, I just looked at her like she was crazy. She has some extreme emotional attachment to Sasuke…like a cat and its laser pointer.

"Sakura…you're smothering me…" Sasuke said, clearly getting annoyed. He always hated it when anyone ever hugged him like that…he didn't like being hugged in any manner…in fact, he didn't like being touched at all. Poor Sasuke, always getting smothered by fangirls. It was funny to laugh at, though. Eventually, Sasuke got her to quit squishing him as I saw Saki approaching.

"Hey guys! What's going on?" she asked.

"I'm trying to get Sakura to help me convince Sasuke not to be a douche by leaving."

"Awh, you like Sasuke too much to let him leave." Saki grinned.

"Saki, if you don't shut up…I am going to _choke_ you." I glared at her as she laughed.

"Oh, so is that why you don't want me to leave? Because you love me?" Sasuke teased. Everyone seems to enjoy bothering me. Sakura was the only one of the three who certainly did not find this amusing. So, luckily her goal wouldn't be to make me want to throw up.

"Don't make me punch that pretty boy face of yours." I growled and kicked him in the balls. As Sasuke was doubled over in pain, Saki giggled, at both mine and Sasuke's suffering.


	6. Memories

_"Sasuke, why are you doing this?" I had finally reached Sasuke's apartment just as he was leaving._

_ "It's none of your business." He replied blandly, shutting the door to his apartment behind him before he started to try to push past me. I quickly stepped in front of him, preventing him from going anywhere._

_ "I know where you're going, Uchiha. And quite honestly, this is the stupidest thing you've ever even thought about doing." He just looked at me with blank eyes. "Why would you go to Orochimaru? You know he's just going to use you."_

_ "If I can get power from someone, I'm going to them. It does matter what the cost or risk; I can handle it."_

_ "And how did that work out for you when Orochimaru branded you with that curse mark of yours?" I shot the question at him, hoping it would make him think and come to his senses._

_ "That was different. I had actually benefited from this. I can gain power from this curse mark." He said. There was definitely something wrong with Sasuke. His logic was never as clouded and misjudged by himself like this. I hate to admit it, but I was really starting to worry about Sasuke._

_Ever since his encounter with Orochimaru, he had been acting so strange…so different. He started going back to being cold and distant, not wanting anything to do with friendship or camaraderie or any of that. _

_But it wasn't like before, when we had first gotten into the formation on Team 7. This was unlike from then. He's been getting a much higher sense of superiority than ever and had much more ambition to take revenge on his nii-san than in the beginning._

_ "You need to come to your senses and realize that what you're doing is wrong, Sasuke. You should just forget about this psychotic dream of killing Itachi…It's not worth it."_

_ "What would you know? Your brother didn't kill your very own clan only to leave you to suffer through all of the pain and agony and lonliness." He growled._

_ "My nii-san didn't kill my family, but the nine-tailed demon fox did. That very demon was sealed inside Naruto, and while many blame Naruto for all of it because he houses that demon, I don't." I said, trying to reason with him._

_ "That's nothing alike, Roxii. You'll never understand. Now move out of my way. I have to get going."_

_ "I'm not moving anywhere until I've convinced you to stay. This is stupid, even for you."_

_ "If you went through what I did, you'd do the very same. I'm leaving this village and never coming back. That's final…" he said. I checked his eyes for even the faintest glimmer of betrayal in his words. Nothing…_

_ "I can't just let you leave like this."_

_ "And why not?" he asked, staring into my eyes and waiting for an answer. Never in a million years would I even think to say this._

_ "Because you mean a lot to me Sasuke. You mean a lot to Team 7. In fact, you mean a lot to this whole village. You're our comrade, Sasuke. And being comrades means looking out for each other. I've known you long enough and actually like you enough to consider you my friend. I don't give up on my friends, no matter what. Not even if they're as messed up or arrogant or obnoxious as you can be."_

_ "Well I don't care about you, Team 7, or the village. I don't care about looking out for my 'comrades'. And I especially don't consider you as my 'friend'." I had just took all the strength I had to throw all of my pride out the window to actually admit to caring about him at least a tiny bit and what do I get? I practically get spit in the face by him, that's what, and that started to really piss me the fuck off._

_ "Why can't you just fucking forget about your stupid revenge for just one damn second and listen to me!?" I shouted. He showed no reaction to my outburst. He just stood there, so I kept going. "Do you even care about anyone in this village enough to listen to them!? What about Naruto and Sakura!? They're actually accepting of you despite how much of a jackass you are and they'd do anything for you, yet you're leaving them!? They're your friends!" I yelled. I was surprised I haven't woken up anyone else in the apartment considering how loud I was yelling._

_ "They're not my friends at all. They're just worthless losers." He said calmly. I couldn't believe what I was hearing._

_ "You're unbelievable." I said, the shock clearly showing in my expression._

_ "What did you expect? For you to come here and say all of that and actually convince me to say 'Oh, maybe I shouldn't leave. You're reasoning sounds pointless and stupid, but I guess I'll stay here anyway.' and stay at the Hidden Leaf forever?" he replied coldly. He was acting like the biggest jerk in the universe._

_ "No, but I was hoping that you'd understand my reasoning and realize that getting revenge on Itachi was pointless and wouldn't do anything for you and decide to make the smart decision and stay here." I was getting really fed up with his act._

_ "What for? You barely think of me as a friend and you always act like you hate me!" he said._

_ "I always act like I hate you because you're obnoxious and arrogant and you don't ever care about anything!" I yelled._

_ "Just go home and go back to bed. I'm done with you, and I need to get out of this stupid village."_

_ "No! Like I said before, I actually care about you enough to try to convince you to stay!"_

_ "You're pathetic, Roxii. I hope you have a nice life. Goodbye." He said with a rude and someone sarcastic tone as he stepped around me and left. At this point, I was too pissed off to go after him. I could tell my eyes turned from their normal ocean blue to an icy blue as I could feel the anger well up inside me and surge through my body. I was never going to admit in my entire life that Sasuke had actually hurt me that night._

I suddenly awoke and sat up sleepily in my bed with my cat purring beside me, still resting happily.

"_Another one of my memories occurring to me through my dreams._" I thought, wishing I could stop reliving the worst of my past events in my sleep once and for all.


	7. The Memories That Go Hand in Hand

~SASUKE'S POV~

_ Just before I stepped around her, I could see the way her eyes changed to an icy blue color, filled with hatred and anger._

_I didn't one hundred percent want to leave anybody in the village; not even her, despite how obnoxious she was, especially when she kicked me all of the time. I was pretty sure that she would hate me forever if I left her pissed off like that (not that she doesn't already), but that didn't matter. I'd leave everything if I had to._

_I just wanted power to kill my brother. I'd never forgive him for what he had done. As I walked down the stairs of the apartment building, I couldn't help but start thinking about all of the memories I had in this village._

_I remembered everything, starting from when I had first met Roxii, Naruto, and Sakura, to when we had first gotten into the formation of Team 7, to the Chunin exams and everything afterward._

_I think I would actually miss the rest of my team who I'd come to consider my friends, despite how annoying they are, even thought I had just told Roxii otherwise._

_My mind started replaying all of the memories I had with them._

_I remembered when I first met the three of them. Naruto had seemed like the most intolerable idiot the world could have. Sakura and Roxii hadn't been so annoying back then, but it had been before Sakura had turned into a fangirl that always obsessed over me and fought with Ino all of the time and it had been before Roxii had decided that she hated me and always had a desire to kick me every time she caught sight of me._

_I remembered the time we first became Team 7. Sakura had been distraught when she was placed on the team with Naruto, although her attitude changed when I was placed with them and Naruto had hated that. At the time, Roxii seemed like the only one who was content with everything._

_I remembered when we had gone through the Chunin exams. It was a disaster. That was the time I had gotten the curse mark from Orochimaru. Suddenly, the memory of the curse mark and Orochimaru had made me recall what I was doing._

"No… I mustn't think of the village, the people in it, or even the memories of them. I need to sever all ties I have to everything here. I can't get distracted from my goals. I need to do this…" _I thought to myself. I was just about to leave the village when I heard footsteps that stopped me. I immediately knew who it was._

_ "Sakura, it's late…Go home and go to bed." I hoped that she would just listen and leave me alone, but it was obvious that wasn't the case._

_ "Sasuke…please don't leave…" she begged._

_ "How did you know I'd be here?"_

_ "This is the only road that leads the way out of town…" she said. I still had my back turned to her. I was afraid that if I turned around, I'd forget about leaving enough to make me want to say. "Please don't go…" she repeated, "I don't want you to leave."_

_ "I have to…I need to do this…"_

_ "But you don't. you could stay here with me. Don't you remember all of those memories we had together? The fun times we had? If you stay, we could make more memories together. Everything could go back to normal." She pleaded._

_ "No, I don't remember. And nothing can go back to normal. This is how it's going to be now." I could tell she was starting to get convinced that nothing would stop me because tears were now surely forming in her eyes as I could hear her voice waver._

_ "I need you here, Sasuke…I understand that being alone hurts because if you leave me, I'll feel exactly like I am all alone! I love you more than anything! Please just stay here! I'll even help you with your revenge! And if that isn't good enough, then please! Take me with you!"_

_ "No. I'm not staying, and I'm not taking you with me, either. Just go home." I started to walk away, but she started bawling. "Goodbye, Sakura…"_

_ "Don't leave me!" she cried. If you go, I'll scream and…" Interrupting her sentence, I quickly left from her sight and stepped behind her. I wanted to look at her, but I couldn't bear to see her face. I didn't want to change my mind._

_ "Sakura, thank you for everything…" I said before knocking her out and placing her on a nearby bench and leaving. Unlike Roxii, I was able to leave her easily. Her emotions clouded her judgment and made it harder for her to reason with me, so it was much easier to leave without her trying to stop me. But just like with Roxii, I had to leave quickly before I could change my mind. Two close calls was enough; I had to leave right then and there. I couldn't allow myself to stay._

I awoke quickly, the memory not fading from my mind like most dreams would. I don't think I wanted to go through that again, but I need to get revenge on my brother.

"_It's a memory that might have to happen again…"_ I thought to myself.


	8. Not Listening

Sorry that I haven't posted ant new chapters in a while. I had a bit of writer's block and then I got caught up with final exams for school and my art project :P Well, anyway, here's the next chapter :3

* * *

I wasn't particularly fond of Sasuke, as I've said before, but I still needed to make sure he wasn't going anywhere.

Since that dream I had of the memory the night Sasuke almost left, I couldn't help but think of one set of memories in particular. It was of the days before the death of Sasuke's clan. It was when we were kids, and when he was actually happy all of the time.

He was so different back then. He was never so cold to people, and he didn't have an obsession with revenge. He loved his brother and strived to be like him. When Itachi killed his clan, he became so angry and isolated, almost never talking to anyone. He had actually stopped talking to me for a while. Despite that, I still tried to talk to him and help him cope.

Eventually, after we became Team 7, he started to reopen up a little more. I still can't believe that he thinks that killing his nii-san will bring him happiness or make him feel better in some way. Of course I knew how bad he must feel, but I still don't think killing Itachi was the answer.

_"What's wrong with you, Sasuke?"_ I thought. The more I thought about Sasuke leaving, the more memories of Sasuke I recalled. I especially remembered all of my memories of us when we were younger.

I used to hang out with Sasuke, Naruto and Sakura all of the time. Sasuke actually showed emotion at that time, and he never really bothered me, so I actually enjoyed hanging out with him. I especially remembered how he and Naruto hated each other from the start and were always fighting, so Sakura and I always had to break them up. Back in the academy, I usually trained with Sasuke.

After a while of going over so many of my memories, I decided that I needed to go confront Sasuke about him leaving. I needed to be sure he wouldn't be a stupid idiot and leave again. So, I got up and went off to find Sasuke.

~oOo~

I found Sasuke in the training grounds working on his skills by himself. He seemed to be pretty into his training, so I tried saying something that I knew he hated so I could easily gain his attention.

"Hey, emo kid with the duck butt hair." I called to him, and surely enough, he responded.

"What do you want, Roxii?" he said, turning around and looking annoyed as I walked up to him.

"I just wanted to get your attention is all. Just calm down. At least I didn't call you Sasgay."

"I'm not gay." He said, irritated.

"I never said you were."

"Did you interrupt my training just to piss me off and call me names?" he questioned, obviously thinking the answer was yes because he looked like he was about to start ignoring me and was ready to go back to his training.

"No."

"Then what do you want?"

"I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"About you leaving." I said. Sasuke sighed.

Roxii, how many times do we have to talk about this?"

"Until I'm sure that you're staying." I looked into his onyx eyes, hoping for an answer that would convince me that he was staying. H sighed again.

"Why can't you understand that I may be leaving, whether you want me to or not?"

"Because this is such a stupid idea! Killing Itachi won't do anything for you!"

"By allowing me to be the only one in my clan to live, my brother chose me to avenge my clan."

"Quit being so insane and just listen!" I've been so tired of hearing him say that all of the time. I thought it was crazy that he thinks that by not killing him, Itachi chose Sasuke to kill him. I just don't see why he couldn't listen and act normal for once. "The death of your family is in the past; it's time to move on, Sasuke… I don't see any need for you to be hung up on this still."

"It's not in the past, because my clan is still dead, I'm still alone without them, and Itachi still awaits me, waiting for me to take revenge upon him." He said. I swear, he has a tumor in his brain that makes him go so damn crazy that nothing can get through his thick skull or something.

"Sasuke, just please forget this whole mess and stay here. You know what Orochimaru is going to do to you."

"Yeah, he's going to give me the power that I need and crave."

"You know that's not what I mean…."

"Roxii, I can take care of myself."

"And what if you can't?"

"But I can."

"What happens if you can't, though?" I questioned.

"Then I'll find a way to get out of trouble. I know you're just trying to help, but I make decisions for myself. I don't need you leading me through my life, or anyone else for that matter. You and everyone else need to accept the fact that I might be leaving again, this time for good." He started to walk away, not bothering to even wait for my response.

"Sasuke…" I called after him. He stopped, keeping his back turned to me. "Please at least think about what you're doing before you decide on leaving…" he only turned his head slightly and smiled before walking away. I could tell he found me worrying and caring about him satisfying, especially considering that I always say I hate him and don't care about him.

~oOo~

I had been taking a walk around town when I heard voices coming from inside a group of trees near the edge of the village. I could tell one of them belonged to Sasuke, but there was another voice that I couldn't identify.

"…leaving the village?" I caught part of a sentence that someone had spoken.

"I was brought back to the village while those idiots who call themselves the Sound Four got caught up with my comrades." I heard Sasuke reply.

"And why are you still here?"

"I'm reconsidering going to Orochimaru."

"So, you don't want power to kill your brother?" It sounded to me like this guy was trying to convince Sasuke to leave again…unless I was hearing things, but that wasn't a likely answer. So I quickly took cover behind a tree, trying to listen in on the conversation better.

"I do, it's just that I'm not so sure about leaving my village…"

"Think about it, Sasuke. If you let this village hold you down, you'll never become strong and powerful. You'll never be capable of taking revenge on Itachi, the one who _killed your entire clan_." How the hell did this guy know this much about Sasuke? It was really bothering me that he knew so much about Sasuke's motives, especially because that gave him a better chance of convincing Sasuke to leave. "If you come to Orochimaru, you can learn more about that curse mark of yours…how to use it to your advantage, what your capabilities are with it, and _how to kill Itachi with it_." He put extra emphasis on that last part. He knew that would get to Sasuke.

Who the fuck was this guy, anyway? I peered around the tree, trying to get a good look at this person while trying as hard as I could not to be noticed.

He had dark blond hair and hazel-colored eyes, and he was wearing an ugly, ill-designed outfit…it included blue pants and a white shirt, with some weird purple rope tied around his waist.

Well, thinking about how he was trying to convince Sasuke to go to Orochimaru, it was pretty obvious that he was one of Orochimaru henchmen.

Looking at Sasuke, the look on his face told me that he was seriously pondering about this.

I wanted so desperately to yell out to Sasuke and tell him not to do it, but then that would blow my cover, and I'm pretty sure that the two of them would _not_ be happy with finding out that I was eavesdropping.

"So, how about it?" the guy asked. Suddenly, I had accidentally stepped on a twig. _Snap!_ The twig broke, and it sounded extremely loud in the near silence of the night.

_"Shit!"_ I screamed in my head as I quickly ducked completely behind the trunk of the tree, hoping no one would notice. _"I'm such an idiot!"_ I thought to myself.

"Roxii, come out from behind there…" How the fuck did he know I was there!? Did he see me before? I decided not to do anything and hope that he's start to think he was just hearing things.

I heard footsteps coming closer and closer towards me, but I just had no idea what to do, so I just stood there.

"I know you're here." I heard Sasuke's voice right behind me and I turned around to see him standing before me.

"Oh, hi Sasuke! W-what are you doing here?" I asked, trying to seem nonchalant (although I was horribly failing).

"I should be asking you the very same question. What are you doing here?"

"Sasuke, please don't do this…"

"Do what?"

"I heard your conversation…"

"Why were you eavesdropping?" his eyes bored into mine as he questioned me, knowing I'd try to find my way out of this.

"I was walking by and I heard you talking about leaving the village again, and I couldn't help but listen in." I said. Sasuke sighed.

The blond haired guy was still standing in his spot, seeming annoyed that his conversation was interrupted by me, especially since I was trying to get Sasuke to stay.

"Roxii, just go home. It's late." he said.

"That's exactly what you said to me on the night you left!"

"I promise you I'm not leaving right this second."

"But you might leave tomorrow, or even the day after that…" I said.

"I can see you're a bit occupied at the moment. I'll be back to discuss this with you another time." the blond haired guy said before taking off. Sasuke sighed again.

"Who was that guy?" I asked, getting somewhat upset that it seemed as though Sasuke was getting closer and closer to leaving again.

"It's no one."

"You can't tell me that was no one! Who was it? One of Orochimaru's henchmen?"

"It's none of your business. Just don't worry about it."

"It is my business! You're my friend and I don't want you leaving!" I couldn't stand it when he always acted like I shouldn't care about him and nothing going on in his life was my business

"Like I've said before, if I want to leave, I'll leave… whether you like it or not. Just let me make my own decisions and live my own life. I don't need you taking care of me like a child."

"Sasuke…"

"Just leave me alone, ok?" he started to walk away, but I grabbed his wrist.

"I can't do that…I'm never going to give up on you. You're my friend and my comrade, and I can't allow you to do this. You know Naruto won't give up on you either…he always keeps his promise and never turns his back on a friend like that by letting them go…and Sakura will definitely try to keep you here, too. We're all just trying to look out for you…" I tried so hard to make him understand.

"At least promise me that you won't keep trying to lead me by the hand through life, ok? If I leave, then I leave…and that's that…" he said before pulling his wrist out of my grasp and walking away again. How many times was he going to do that to me?

"I can't do that either, Sasuke…" I said, not caring that he was too far away by now to hear me, not that he would listen anyway…


	9. A Stupid Decision and Desperate Attempt

Sorry (again) about taking a while to post. I've been having a bit of writer's block lately, plus I've noticed that _zhessdene _posted a review on my story stating that should make the chapters a bit longer. I found that as a good idea, so I decided to try and take that advice. Anyway, thanks for reading! :3

* * *

"Wait, who was Sasuke talking to?" Naruto was giving me his dumbfounded look. I had just finished explaining what had happened last night with Sasuke to Naruto and Sakura. I wasn't about to leave them out of something big going on with our teammate.

"I don't know. I've never seen him before, but judging by the way he was trying to get Sasuke to leave and go to Orochimaru, I'd say he's obviously an ally of Orochimaru's." I said. Sakura looked terrified at the possibility of Sasuke leaving again.

"We can't let Sasuke leave again!" she squealed.

"That's exactly what I've been telling Sasuke, but he just doesn't want to listen. He doesn't care that we're always going to stop him; he's just going to try and leave anyway… stupid dumbtard…" I grumbled.

"Well, what do we do?" Naruto said, racking his brain for answers.

"I don't know…I've been trying to convince him to stay for weeks. He just gives answers like 'I don't know, Roxii' or 'I'm still thinking about it' and 'If I leave, then you and everyone else need to just accept that, blah, blah, bah'." I mimicked Sasuke's quotes with my generic guy voice.

"Since when does he sound like _that_?" Naruto said. Sakura punched him in the head.

"That's _not the point_!" she yelled. I sighed. This was going to take a while…

"What did I do!?" Naruto shouted, oblivious as always. Ignoring Naruto, I moved on with the conversation.

"So how are we going to keep Sasuke here? It's not like we can tie him up in chains and forcefully keep him here forever…"

"I know but sadly that seems like the only way we could get him to stay." Sakura said, thinking of _practical _ways to prevent him from going.

"If only he wasn't a stupid idiot…" I muttered.

"He's not stupid; he's just not always good at making the right decisions." She defended Sasuke.

"I'm going with stupid." I said, irritated.

"Maybe if we show him how much better it is to stay here in the village, he won't go." Sakura suggested.

"I already tried convincing him into that. I've told him time after time that he'd have a much better life here and that killing Itachi would do nothing and would bring him no happiness, but it just won't go through his thick skull."

"See! I've always told you guys that he was a moron!" Naruto said.

"Hey, a least I eventually listened. Anyway, we need to find a solution to this." We all sat there, thinking, thinking, and more thinking. After a while, we still hadn't come up with any ideas. "I think we just need to just let this problem ride out for now. There's not much we can do…Maybe Sasuke will forget all about this or decide on being with his friends instead, especially if he realizes how much better it is to be here, like you said, Sakura." I suggested,

"But you said that wouldn't work." Naruto said.

"Well, I suppose we can only use that plan and hope it works. There's not many other options we have here." I stated. My two friends sighed but agreed with me.

~oOo~

"No! I'm not letting you leave again!" I yelled. It seems that Sasuke was leaving a lot sooner than I thought he would…

"Roxii, I've made up my mind. I'm not staying here any longer. It's time for me to leave."

"How many times do I have to lecture you on how stupid this decision is!?"

"And how many times do I have to tell you that I'm leaving, regardless of who does or doesn't want me to go?" I could tell Sasuke was getting really annoyed by now.

I could understand a lot about Sasuke, but I couldn't understand why he'd risk being used by Orochimaru just to gain power to kill his brother.

"Sasuke, you're just going to make your life worse by doing this!"

"How would you know? It's not like you understand me. It's not like you've been through what I've been through. I'm sure you can't see the future and how happy people will be then either." He said. I sighed. No matter what I say or do, nothing will ever get through to him.

When I didn't say anything, he just continued on. "Some people in your life are going to make decisions that you don't like. You, Naruto, and Sakura need to learn that. You should just let people live their life the way they want, even if you're against it."

On one hand, he sounded like he was being wise. On the other hand, I knew what he was saying wasn't right. It was just outright stupid. I just wish he had a smarter logic than the logic he actually does have. Stupid idiot… Suddenly, I saw him start to turn to leave.

"Sasuke, wait!" I yelled.

"What? And you can stop yelling. I'm right here." He said, sounding aggravated like always. I didn't know what else to do to make him stop; I've tried everything. So, I blurted out a last resort.

"What if I come with you?"

"What?" he said, looking slightly confused. "Why?" Now that I thought about it, it could work. If I went with him to Orochimaru, that'd give me more chances to try to convince him to go back to the village. So, I decided to just go with it. Now I just needed to come up with a reason that he'd believe.

"Well, I've been thinking about it a lot and I decided that if I couldn't get you to stop leaving if and when you left, I would come with you and help you with your revenge." I lied.

"And why would you want to do that? You hate me." he questioned.

"Because I…couldn't stand to lose you. You're my…best…friend." I said, trying to smile. Although, I could feel the corner of my mouth twitching. Calling Sasuke my best friend seemed almost impossible to do, especially with how obnoxious and arrogant I considered him to be.

"Hm… Just go back home. I don't need any assistance in my revenge." He obviously didn't believe a word I said.

This would be a much easier situation to handle if I hated literally every ounce of Sasuke's being and if Naruto and Sakura didn't care about him either. Part of the reason I decided on this was so they wouldn't have to be hung up on Sasuke constantly leaving.

Speaking of leaving, that's exactly what Sasuke started to do again.

"I'll just follow you, Sasuke…" I said, taking a step towards him. He sighed.

"Fine. Come with me if you really want. Just realize that you'll be leaving Konoha and that you'll never convince me to come back." Well, I guess he figured out the only reason I'm going along.

"I know." I said. He just grunted like he always does, which is Sasuke talk for a multitude of things. I assumed in this case it meant 'let's go' or something along the lines of that because of how he just headed off without another word, leaving me to follow.

~oOo~

I sighed to myself as we stood in the large dark room in Orochimaru's hideout. I could _not _believe what I was doing. But being as there was absolutely no way that Sasuke was staying in Konoha like a sensible person, I had no choice but to follow this idiot and stay with him. I'm hoping I'll be able to convince him to come back during our stay in this creepy place.

Then, I noticed Orochimaru was approaching us. I couldn't help but give him the 'this guy is creeping me out' stare. He's just so…weird.

I remember how freaky he was during the Chunin exams, which was when I first saw him. He had that long snake-like tongue, and he even moved in a snake-like manner at times, like when he coiled himself around a tree and tried to creep up on Sasuke.

And that strange essence he emanated. He was just so damn scary at the time. Sasuke and I were discussing it later, and he described looking at him as "like staring death in the eye." Looking at Orochimaru, I realized… he's still scarily creepy.

"So, who's this little girl you brought with you?" Orochimaru said, standing in front of me and looking me in the eyes. Little girl? I may be scrawny, but I'm not a _little girl_!

"She's one of my teammates, Roxii. I'm sure she won't get in the way." Sasuke replied.

"And why is she here?" Orochimaru questioned.

"She couldn't convince me to stay at that worthless village, so she decided to come with me. I guess she just couldn't stay away from me." he said, smirking.

I growled and kicked him, although he easily dodged, much to my dismay. He saw it coming, but he finds that bothering me would be worth getting kicked anyway. Orochimaru just laughed.

"Be sure that she's not here as a spy. Otherwise, I'll have to be sure to eliminate her." He said with a feral grin.

I didn't even want to know how he plans on killing me if I were here just to spy on him. He'd probably have a bunch of poisonous snakes bite me until every ounce of my blood is poisoned and then have one giant snake eat me…

"Kabuto will be showing you two to your rooms." He said as Kabuto came up. I hate that nerd guy so much…

"Hello, Sasuke. I knew you'd be coming." He said, smirking and probably thinking of however Orochimaru was going to use him. I don't get why these people were so devoted to helping Snake Weirdo. "Although I didn't realize you'd be bringing a guest." He glared at me…

I think he sensed that I hated him. Or he felt that I was just a spy. Or both. Probably most likely that third option.

He first led Sasuke to his room on his way showing me to mine. Did Orochimaru ever come out of this place since before the 1800's or anything? It seemed as though he's never heard of electricity. It was fairly dim in the building, as there were only a few candles lighting the hallways every 10 feet or so.

And why was this place so big? What the fuck does he keep in here? Five hotel's worth of people? Two zoos (which in his case would include _only_ snakes)?

I didn't think a few people would require so much space… but then again, he probably had prisoners, hostages, followers, and all the like kept in here.

After showing Sasuke to his room and leaving him to get settled there, Kabuto led me to my room which was all the way down the unnecessarily long hallway.

"This is where you'll be staying." He said when we (finally) reached my new room.

"Uhm…ok." I said, not wanting to be near him any longer. Before I was able to get inside the room, I suddenly found myself pinned against the wall.

"And just to make Lord Orochimaru's words clear, you _will_ be killed as soon as we find you as an issue." I just remained calm and waited for him to let go and leave, which he eventually did after getting a nod from me.

Ok, what I said earlier about that whole "feeling that I was a spy" thing? Yeah, I was totally right on that one.


	10. Rewrite (url to new story included)

I've decided on what to do with my story _without_ the help of my viewers, being that I couldn't see anyone ever bothering to give me an opinion. I realized that I should just rewrite my fanfiction.

Instead of just starting off from the beginning of the original story and rewriting the rest, I'll rewrite the original in addition to starting the story from the beginning where they were everyone was first placed in squads. I figured I could easily get more ideas in if I had more of the canon plot to work with. Another thing about the new story: being that it starts from a much earlier point in time, the main plot will have to change, too. But i will include the rewritten chapters of the original story later on in the new story.

I'm currently working on the first chapter of the rewrite and will post it under a new story, likely with the name changed as well being that the plot will no longer be specifically about Sasuke's decisions on whether or not to stay.

Thank you so much for reading _Sasuke Stays?_ and I hope you liked it. I hope you'll read and like my new story too!

**URL to my new story:**

s/9438367/1/The-Unique-Team-7


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